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Fortnite Fortnite data mining hints at return of Thanos for Avengers: Endgame By Steven Rondina Dota 2 OpenAI Five dominate reigning Dota 2 champions OG, threaten humanity By Steven Rondina League of Legends SK Telecom signs a new partnership with Riot Games Korea By William Davis

Counter-Strike

Astralis shocked by three losses to end run at BLAST Pro Series Miami Steven Rondina Astralis losing any game comes as something of a surprise, but Astralis losing three games in one day is a shocker. That is exactly what happened in the second day of play at the BLAST Pro Series: Miami. Despite opening the event with victories over Cloud9 and Natus Vincere, Astralis went 0-3 on day two. The Danes opened the day in ugly fashion opposite MiBR. After trading the first five …

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PUBG banned in Nepal, labeled as addictive to children and teenagers Steven Rondina PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been at the center of a number of controversies, and the latest is one of the most severe yet. According to multiple reports, the popular battle royale title has been made illegal in Nepal. The country’s Metropolitan Crime Division has called for a ban on the game, with an emphasis of getting rid of its mobile port. Additionally, the Nepal Telecommunication Authority has been working to block …

Dota 2

Dota Auto Chess developer shows off new designs for pieces Steven Rondina Dota Auto Chess has taken the world by storm as a user-made game mode in Dota 2, but fans are getting a small taste of its upcoming standalone mobile release. Auto Chess developer Drodo Studio has been rolling out concept art for the characters in the mobile port of the game on Twitter. The new pieces let players see the title’s general art style, but also let fans know that …

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Cloud9 debut new roster with two losses at BLAST Pro Series Miami Steven Rondina Cloud9 has a new roster and new apparel, but it has achieved the same results. Debuting its fresh black and white jerseys and a lineup that includes René “cajunb” Borg and Daniel “vice” Kim, Cloud9 started its new era at the BLAST Pro Series: Miami. While the ideal way to kick things off would have been with a few victories, Cloud9 instead ate a pair of tough losses. Though Cloud9 …

Counter-Strike BLAST Pro Series Global Final details revealed before Miami event By Steven Rondina Counter-Strike FURIA Esports explains why the team refused ESL Pro League invite By Olivia Richman Counter-Strike Cache map creator FMPONE gives fans update on map revisions By Steven Rondina

Dota 2

Natus Vincere bring in Misha to sub for captain Sonneiko gabhernandez Natus Vincere captain Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butae will be benched temporarily. For the team’s upcoming tournaments, Na ‘Vi tapped Mikhail “Misha” Agatov to stand in for the side. Misha will be playing for Na ‘Vi in two tournaments outside of the Dota Pro Circuit: ESL One Mumbai and the GG.BET Birmingham Invitational. The reason behind this decision was revealed to be an ongoing health issue a recent press release. “During the …

Counter-Strike

CompLexity Gaming brings back n0thing for ESL Pro League Olivia Richman Season 9 of the American ESL Pro League begins today, and for many Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams it has been a rocky road to get here. Just one day before the competition was to begin, compLexity Gaming announced that Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert will be standing in for Ricky “Rickeh” Mulholland due to visa issues for the Australian. For now, Rickeh is stuck in Canada. “n0thing lives out in the west coast …

Counter-Strike

This botched musical performance at a CS:GO event causes cringe Steven Rondina Many esports events have included musical numbers as part of the live experience. Sometimes they go very well, like when violinist Lindsey Stirling opened the main event of Dota 2’s The International 2016. Sometimes they can go very, very wrong, like at the Charleroi Esports 2019 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. The duo of Belgian Eurodance singer Marisa and DJ Charley were meant to perform a number that included their recently …

League of Legends

Famed jungler Trick returns to Europe to join FC Schalke 04 William Davis LEC team FC Schalke 04 has signed four-time EU LCS champion Kim “Trick” Gang-yun. Schalke is adding a new name to its LEC roster, as Trick is making what the team hopes will be a triumphant return to Europe. Known primarily for his time at G2 Esports, Trick first made a name for himself in the European pro scene.  Wearing G2’s uniform, the jungler competed in the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational …

The Weeknd invests in OverActive Media, owner of Splyce and Defiant William Davis League of Legends Popular Canadian R&B musical artist The Weeknd has invested in OverActive Media, the parent company of Splyce and the Toronto Defiant. Splyce currently has a professional League of Legends team in the LEC, the top tier of pro League competition in Europe. The organization also boasts a pro Call of Duty team, a Rocket League team, a Smite team, and a StarCraft team. While Splyce also owns the Toronto Defiant, …

Valve responds to European Commission geoblocking allegations Olivia Richman News Valve has responded to the European Commission’s allegations that the publisher has broken EU competition rules by geo-blocking games. According to an official press release from Valve, the region lock in question only applied to a “small number of game titles.” In fact, Valve said it was just three percent of all games on Steam, none of which were their own titles. “Valve believes that the EC’s extension of liability …

Hacker breaks into Fortnite Twitter in response to game changes Olivia Richman Fortnite “Revert the changes.”  One Fortnite fan was apparently bothered enough by the game’s recent changes to hack the game’s official Twitter account and post this simple tweet.  The cryptic hack took place shortly after Epic Games released a controversial change just days before the Fortnite World Cup. Participants are no longer able to use stretched resolutions in Arena Mode or in tournaments.  The hacker is not alone in this sentiment. …

Racist and misogynist Overwatch game goes viral and Blizzard responds gabhernandez News Twitter user @Yes_ItsRose posted a disturbing video highlighting both sexism and racism in a recent Overwatch match. The two-minute video depicts Rose playing Mercy in her match. While trying to heal she is badgered with racist remarks about her skin color. Several members of her team even hone in on the color of her skin being the reason for her “mediocre” gameplay. When one teammate tries to stand up for …

Riot Games plans big changes to the League of Legends item shop William Davis League of Legends Big changes are coming to the item shop, Riot Games announced through the latest edition of Dev Corner. The item shop is going through a deep cleanup and will have a completely new look by the end of the year 2019. According to the announcement shared on the Riot Games message boards, the developers behind League of Legends are looking to remove and rework existing items and add new ones. …

Scientist Moira is third skin revealed for Overwatch Storm Rising Olivia Richman News Overwatch just announced a new legendary Moira skin as part of the anticipated Storm Rising event. Complete with a lab coat, the Scientist Moira skin features the word “Cryo” on her back. While it’s unclear what this phrase is referring to, Moira is a well known for her findings in the genetics field. While her DNA research seemed to be leading to overcoming diseases and “maximizing human potential,” it also …

Washington Justice GM Kate Mitchell announces plans to retire Steven Rondina News A staffing change with Overwatch League’s Washington Justice has shined a fresh light on burn out and toxicity in esports. Justice general manager Kate Mitchell has announced that she is planning to retire following the end of stage two of the season. In her announcement, she specifically cited the rigorous nature of esports and frequent hostility over social media, particularly Reddit. “I’ve had irreplaceable experiences in this community…It’s impossible to …

Draken dropped from Ninjas in Pyjamas as Dennis returns Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Dennis “dennis” Edman has returned from his hiatus from competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Ninjas in Pyjamas announced the Swede’s return to its active roster on Twitter. It also confirmed the release of stand-in player William “draken” Sundin, who joined the team as a substitute to fill in for Dennis during his absence. Dennis has been a key member of Ninjas in Pyjamas during the team’s recent upswing. An 11-year veteran …

This deaf Overwatch streamer just reached top 500 in ranked Olivia Richman News Over 105,000 people have now watched Overwatch streamer Maxim76 react to reaching top 500 in Overwatch’s ranked mode. Peaking at a score of 4,237 Season Rating and reaching the 482nd player ranking with the best rating on his server, Maxim76’s accomplishment is made even greater when you factor in that he’s deaf. On a Reddit forum post about Maxim76’s placement, a deaf diamond player discussed the difficulties that players like Maxim76 …

Activision Blizzard wants data on company employee pregnancies Olivia Richman News Activision Blizzard is asking its employees to share information on their pregnancies and menstrual cycles. Period and pregnancy tracking app Ovia is a popular app among expecting mothers. But recently, employers like Activision Blizzard have started paying the apps’ developer, Ovia Health, to gain access to their employees’ data. According to the Washington Post, companies say this data will help “minimize health-care spending, discover medical problems, and better plan for …

A real-life battle royale event might just be in the works Steven Rondina Fortnite Do you stay up late at night, wishing that games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite were real? Probably not, given the incredibly high likelihood of coming to harm. But somebody out there does and is trying to make that dream a reality. Gaming site Destructoid discovered a listing on luxury retailer Hushhush.com for a project manager for a “100-person battle royale inspired event.” The project aims to take the most …

OW Contenders team replaces players hours before game, still wins William Davis News Where there’s a will there’s a way, or so the saying goes. Rarely has it been more true than for Overwatch North America Contenders team Second Wind, who recently overcame some significant odds to beat Chicken Contendies 3-2. On April 7, half of Second Wind’s roster left to pursue opportunities elsewhere. The team’s tank lineup, comprised of main tank Normund “sharyk” Faterins and off-tank Daniel “Gods” Graeser, left for Montreal …

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